A Sour Lake man has been arrested and charged with arson, a state jail felony, after he allegedly went onto the property of the Catholic Church in the city, removed a Papal flag from the flag pole, carried behind the church and intentionally burned it.

According to a probable cause affidavit, the incident was reported two weeks ago, leading to an investigation by the Sour Lake Police Department. The investigation led officers to the 18-year-old man. He was located and arrested on March 19.

After being read his Miranda rights, the man provided a statement to officers, stating he targeted the Papal flag as part of his belief in Satanism. He was charged with the state jail felony.

The 18-year-old was out of jail on bond awaiting trial on an unrelated felony charge of criminal mischief at the time of the incident.

The investigation is ongoing and additional charges, including federal hate crime charges, could be filed.

"I am proud of my officers for the investigation they did in identifying and locating the suspect in this case," said Sour Lake Police Chief Mike Holzapfel.